Extension cord storage-pro tips

[bluedog225]

I’m powerless over them and my life has become unmanageable

I’m all grown up but my extension cords are still a mess. Every darn time, it’s a whole thing to unravel them.

Shirley there is a better way.

How do you guys store your cords? I’m all ears.
.

 

[niget2002]

I buy the cheap little orange cord holders that have the handle and you wrap the cord around.

Similar to this

Woods 2803 Extension Cord Reel (Mountable H-Frame) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0037W5W2O/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[FTWingRiders]

I have 3500’… I use the Orange reels from HD. And I label both end with the length.

 

[cgrutt]

I tie them as you would a climbing rope.



Almost all of my extension cords are heavy duty (12 ga) they stay flexible in winter too.

 

[nadogail]

The inventor of the Cord Wheel deserves to be rich.

 

[never enuf time]

I have 2 steel L brackets bolted together, then screwed to the wall to hold them. I remember one timeworking up north, a home owner told us he knew the best way to roll up a cord. He did a whole bunch of loops, and came up with this huge complicated deal.
Got back in the truck with the boss, he said man I thought he was going to show us something cool.
I just roll them up male end first, unroll female first.

 

[The Cobbler]

I don't spend a lot of time wrapping up cords . often I will tape them with black tape to keep them together .
they get twisted up , but I can live with that . I consider extension cords to be consumables , but having said that. I have cords that were used almost everyday that are probably 20 yrs old

 

[GreenIron]

It's so simple and easy. No frustrations.
It gets used often.

 

[DGersic]

Coil it over and under

Then a Velcro wrap to keep it together.

 

[pbon]

I have seen people do this weird braid with extension cords but never learned it myself.

 

[619DioFan]

In the shop I have 3 30 foot retractable reels hung . all the loose cords are on the round roll up type holders sold at hd . lowes and walmart. the round holders make it easy to use and put away and they stand up nicely on edge on one shelf.

 

[Zeus36]

Shirley there is a better way.

How do you guys store your cords? I’m all ears.


There is a better way, and don't call me Shirley.

 

[Monza Harry]

Cords and hoses have a natural we will call it "way or grain" (if you will) about them, if rarely twisted against it's "grain" they will always want to be in that shape, ie; the way it was wound when made (still warm) don't fight that shape and roll up in the biggest practical loop. This is easiest with the hose/cord layed out straight. This will allow the cord to unwind as you roll it up. Take your time and don't fight the natural shape. I have come to a "Love-Hate" state with "Cable Cuff's" they are great to keep them neat and controlled but some don't last very long. Also plug the ends together to keep the ends corralled. Harry

https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DChcSEwi0lsn95en8AhUCjoYKHVsrDi0YABAJGgJ2dQ&sig=AOD64_2PsdZ-VDXbxGiJPrKs4-jDYrx0-A&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwij68L95en8AhX2QjABHV97C_QQwg8oAHoECAUQEQ&adurl=

Google Image Result for https://images.homedepot.ca/productimages/p_1000130744.jpg?product-images=l

 

[Renegade1LI]

I use cordless tools, no extension cords, hardly ever need a cord.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Roll up in fairly big loops. The last loop turn to face the other direction, make sure this loop can be wrapped around the cordage at least once. Push the loop thru the center of the cords. Hang on a nail for temp storage. Long term storage I store on a shelf.

 

[Dozerhand]

That's one skill I wish I could have learned from our landlord growing up on the farm. All of his cords, hoses, and ropes were always perfect. I remember him telling me he rolled up a hose different if it was before or after noon. Unfortunately I was still pretty young when he died and never learned all his secrets on how he made those things behave as well as they did.

 

[MushCreek]

Living on acreage, I have a lot of extension cords. Cordless tools are great, but they won't do everything. The normal size cords I just use the cheap orange plastic things. The problem was dealing with two 100', 10 gauge monsters. I picked up a used garden hose reel at a yard sale, and it holds both of them, plus it has wheels to move it around. Best $5 I ever spent.

 

[jetmechabq]

Look at a carpenters wrap, some will call it a heavy gauge weave.

 

[CraigStu]

I use the $10 orange plastic reels or...go back and look at the pic in cgrutt's post. Stop at the 2nd pic. See how he first pushed a loop of cord through the top bundle? Do that but do not put the bare end through. You end up w/ the loop and then you slide the wraps portion up toward the top so the loop gets somewhat captured. Depending on the flexibility of the cord, and how it will be stored, you can make the loop shorter or longer. If it is stiff and/or will get thrown around, make it longer so it doesn't get pulled back through. If it gets hung on a hook you can make it shorter. One other tip re; the video. You can avoid needing to twist it by grabbing the rest of the cord on the floor and giving it a big whip motion or two. That will usually straighten out the rest of the cord. BTW, each time you put another length into your left hand you need to twist the cord maybe half a turn. That combined w/ whips once in a while will usually work w/ cord up to 25ft or so. When it gets longer it is too heavy to whip so I flip the coil that I have made so far around in my hand.

 

[Jeff C]

Best thing I ever did was buy a 25’ cord. It’s long enough to reach everything I need to do in the garage and it’s short enough to be easy to coil up.

 

[Poolshark314]

Cable Cuffs work pretty well for me. Usually under $2 a piece too

 

[Jeepster04]

Coil it over and under

Then a Velcro wrap to keep it together.

This is what I do, but that weird hand flick is completely unnecessary. Just twist the cable every other time. The cable/cord will basically do it for you.

 

[WisJim]

My 12 ga 100 foot cords and my 10 ga are all coiled up and put on a shelf in a rubbermaid tote.

 

[bb29510]

i just put it down as god hates me, he got a sick sense of humor when ever i get a water hose or electrical cord out, he the cause for battery tools sales

 

[acer66]

Coil it over and under

Then a Velcro wrap to keep it together.

First time I saw something like that was on a set.
The audio guys had their cables ******* like that.
When setting up they just threw their cables out and they unraveled mid air and landed perfectly laid out every time.

 

[FTWingRiders]

To follow up with a picture.. here’s 40 reels, plus I have another 10 or so in various places.

I also use these on every cord.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09RKGXHPM/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I do a huge haunted woods at my house, hence the large amount of extension cords.

 

[jade97]

Shirley there is a better way.

How do you guys store your cords? I’m all ears.


There is a better way, and don't call me Shirley.

My caution to using these reels, is not to keep too much cord on the reel if you are using something that is pulling higher amps. The coil becomes an inductor. A few years ago, in my old house before I finished the basement, I had one of those oil filled heaters in the coldest months. One day I went to use the cord for something else and noticed some of the insulation had melted and was molded to the shape of the way the cord was wound on the reel.

 

[SteveL]

Three ceiling mounts cord reels in the shop and one of these with 100’ for the yard.

 

[housewolf]

This is what I do, but that weird hand flick is completely unnecessary. Just twist the cable every other time. The cable/cord will basically do it for you.

Same. I worked briefly for a garage door company in the late 70s and the guy who taught me to install doors showed me this. 40+ years in construction and less than half the people I worked with could properly roll up a cord.

Same with water hoses. When my wife uses a cord or hose I tell her just leave it wadded up in a pile on the ground, I’ll deal with it. It’s easier than trying to untangle her mess.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I just coil mine up, nice sized loops. Then they are hung on bicycle hooks screwed into the wall.

 

[Zeke]

How long are we talking about? 25 to 50' I coil them. 100' I chain them.

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[Zeus36]

Replaced a broken handle with a spinner knob and reinforced the handle on this cheap HF reel. This cord reel is for yard work, but most of my stuff is now cordless.

 

[Two Door]

First time I saw something like that was on a set.
The audio guys had their cables ******* like that.
When setting up they just threw their cables out and they unraveled mid air and landed perfectly laid out every time.

This was the very first thing I was taught when I was stagehanding.

Holding one end in your hand pointing away from you, you first try to get the cable spread out away from you as straight as possible. You then coil counterclockwise, giving the cord a half twist each coil. The half twist will make the part in the coil fall into place, but the part on the ground will correspondingly get further twisted.

You have two options - You could relieve the tension by doing the over/under as shown in a previous post, but I prefer to either rotate the coil on the vertical axis to take out the tension, or fling the portion on the ground to the right for the same purpose.

Keep coiling, doing the half twist each coil. Take out the tension when necessary with one of the two methods.

When finished, I tie it together with a string permanently affixed to one end. I was also a sound-guy at one time, and as said, this is how it is done.

Ten years ago I was given an extension cord that was horribly twisted over the entire length. I've been coiling as I've said and although I can still see the twists, it is no longer trash-can material and has become very compliant.

 

[ZRX61]

Coiled up & hung on a welding tank, ditto with a couple of air hoses.

 

[CraigStu]

I was trained by a fellow boater whose boat was docked 6 away from ours. One more variation but it only works for nice flexible rope. If you want to hang it on a rail, look at the last pic in cgrutt's post number 4. If you put a stopper or figure 8 knot in the end piece, put the loop on one side of the rail, the end on the other side, and put the knot through the loop. The know will not come back through so your rope is now hanging from a rail.

 

[mslim]

Coil it over and under

Then a Velcro wrap to keep it together.

What DGersic said^

Give away all your cheap Big Box Store SJT extensions. Buy 100' of 16-3 SOOW, chop it into four 25' lengths. Put Leviton Python 15A Edisons (or equivalent) on both ends and coil, over-under. Velcro tie or trick line piggin strings. If you're working on a crew, demand they wrap over-under.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I coil up my extension cord (and my garden hoses) in a figure 8 pattern. It makes them a little more clumsy to store but they uncoil for use without kinking.

 

[PoorUB]

I worked as HVAC tech. One day I had a new kid riding with me. I got a kick out of it as we were done with one job and I told him to wrap up the 100 foot extension cord we were using. A few minutes later I looked in the back of the truck and this balled up 100 foot extension cord was tossed in back. I told him to coil it up correctly and he said we are just going to use it the next stop any way!

I took the time to show him how to coil it up and told him after ever use to wrap it up properly!

I loop it up and as I get too the end I hold the top of the loop and wrap the cord around the middle a few wraps, kinda like a hang man's noose, then tuck the end into the wrap and give it a tug tp get the end snugged down.

 

[lolaetype]

Cable Cuffs work pretty well for me. Usually under $2 a piece too

That's what I use. I use the palm of my hand and my elbow to coil up shorter cords and just loop the 100' cord, clip on a Cable Cuff and hang the cords on what Walmart calls a "6" wall mounted garage utility J hook"

 

[superspec]

When a MFer comes on the job with experience and wraps 100’ palm to elbow that means momma let him leave home.

I have always been the guy to pull my cords out as long and straight as possible then pull 6’ish loops and hang up till tomorrow. Tie off as needed